Tara (mountain)
| Tara | |
|---|---|
| Тара | |
 | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,544 m (5,066 ft)[1] |
| Coordinates | 43°50′54″N 19°27′34″E / 43.84833°N 19.45944°E |
| Geography | |
  Tara Location in Serbia | |
| Location | Western Serbia |
| Parent range | Dinaric Alps |
 Tara National Park | |
| Area | 220 km2 (85 sq mi) |
| Established | 1981 |
Tara (Serbian Cyrillic: Тара, pronounced [târa]) is a mountain located in western Serbia. It is part of Dinaric Alps and stands at 1,000 to 1,590 m (3,280 to 5,220 ft) above sea level. The mountain's slopes are clad in dense forests with numerous high-altitude clearings and meadows, steep cliffs, deep ravines carved by the nearby Drina River and many karst, or limestone caves. The mountain is a popular tourist centre. Tara's national park encompasses a large part of the mountain. The highest peak is Zborište, at 1,544 m (5,066 ft).
National park
Tara's national park was established in 1981 and it encompasses Tara and part of the Zvijezda mountain, in a large bend of the Drina River. The area of the park originally was 191.75 km2 (74.04 sq mi)[2][3][4] with altitudes varying from 250 to 1,591 m (820 to 5,220 ft) above sea level. On 5 October 2015, the National Assembly of Serbia adopted the new law of national parks which enlarged the Tara National Park to 249.92 km2 (96.49 sq mi),[5][6] by adding to it the protected area of "Zaovine Landscape of Outstanding Features".[7][8] The park's management office is located in nearby Bajina Bašta. The protective zone of the park, which encircles it, is much larger and spreads over the area of 376 km2 (145 sq mi).[4]
Geography
The national park consists of a group of mountain peaks with deep picturesque gorges between them. The highest point of the park is the Kozji Rid peak on the Zvijezda mountain, with 1,591 m (5,220 ft).[3] The most striking of these gorges is the Drina Gorge, with its sheer drops from 1,000 to 250 m (3,280 to 820 ft) and extensive views of western Serbia and nearby Bosnia. It also encompasses the gorges of the rivers Rača, Brusnica and Derventa and the waterfall of Veliki Skakavac on the river Beli Rzav. The area is also characterised by karst caves, pits, springs, and breathtaking vista points (Kićak, Smiljevac, Bilješke Stene, Kozje Stene, Vitimirovac and Kozji Rid).[6]
Plantlife
Forests account for three quarters of this national park's area, 160 km2 (62 sq mi), and some of them being the best preserved and well-kept in Europe. With 83.5% of the territory under forests, Tara is the most forested area of Serbia and thus nicknamed the "lungs of Serbia". The forest growth is among the highest in Europe, the total wooden mass increases each year and the quality of the forest is enhanced. The cutting of the wood is strictly controlled. Since 1960, the total measurement of the wooden mass on Tara has been measured every 10 years. From 1990 to 2000, the mass grew from 463.7 m3/ha (5,325 US bushels per acre) to 476.4 m3/ha (5,471 US bushels per acre). Within the park, there are 9 reserves with an area of 29.5 km2 (11.4 sq mi), or 16% of the park, where woodcutting is forbidden. Some of the areas are left unattended for centuries, making them basically a temperate rainforest.[2][4]
Tara also boasts a rare endemic Tertiary species, the Picea omorika, or Serbian Spruce, which is now protected in a small area of the park. Because of its rarity and scientific importance, it has been placed under national protection. Oldest trees in the park are the beeches,[2] and in total there are 1,000 plant species in the park, of which 20 are endemic.[6]
Wildlife
Locally, Tara is home to many different species of wildlife, including brown bears, chamois, roe deer, lynxes, otters, wolves and others. More than 100 bird species also make their temporary or permanent homes on the slopes of the mountain: the golden eagle, the griffon vulture, the peregrine falcon, the Eurasian eagle owl, the black grouse, among many others.
Tourism
The main tourist points are Kaluđerske Bare on the north, close to Bajina Bašta, and Mitrovac on the south. Hotels Beli Bor and Omorika, as well as several smaller ones, are located on Kaluđerske Bare, while Mitrovac hosts eponymous children's recreation hotel.
The National Park can be reached from Bajina Bašta directly (by the Bajina Bašta - Kaluđerske Bare road), from Perućac via Bajina Bašta (by the Perućac - Mitrovac road) and from Kremna (the Kremna - Kaluđerske Bare road). The Drina gorge, which is an integral part of the park, can be toured by boat.
Interesting locally made items are woolen handcrafts, various dairy products, juniper and plum spirits and honey, particularly Pine honey.
See also
- Zlatibor, a nearby tourist centre.
- Užice
- Mokra Gora
- Tara mountain website
References
- ^ "Tara".
- ^ a b c B.Pejović (13 July 2008). "„Pluća Srbije" sve jača" (in Serbian). Politika.
- ^ a b "About Tara NP". National Park Tara. 2013.
- ^ a b c "Nacionalni park Tara – položaj, proglašenje nacionalnog parka i zone zaštite" (in Serbian). Geografija.rs. 25 February 2014.
- ^ "Zakon o nacionalnim parkovima (National parks law)" (in Serbian). 5 October 2015.
- ^ a b c Aleksandra Mijalković (18 June 2017), "O očuvanju naše prirodne baštine: najbolja zaštita u naconalnim parkovima", Politika-Magazin (in Serbian), pp. 3–6
- ^ "Usvojen Zakon o nacionalnim parkovima" (in Serbian). Institute for nature conservation of Serbia. October 2015.
- ^ "Proširen Nacionalni park "Tara"" (in Serbian). Turizam & Ugostiteljstvo. 13 October 2015.
Sources
- Serbia’s Wild Side – Mount Tara, Balkan Insight, 20 October 2008, retrieved 11 February 2013
- Tara (in Serbian), Municipality of Bajina Bašta, retrieved 25 August 2010
- Tara – Elegantna i nepredvidiva (in Serbian), Vreme, 23 August 2012
External links
- Official website of the national park
- Tara Mountain - photomonography
- Tara Mountain, Serbia | Tourism, Apartments, Real estate, Map
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